Ayaz Gul VOA News August 11, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban reaffirmed Tuesday its commitment to ending violence in Afghanistan, while emphasizing that a comprehensive cease-fire has to be discussed during intra-Afghan peace negotiations due to begin later this month. The proposed talks are an outcome of the agreement the United States sealed with the
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News August 10, 2020 ISLAMABAD – Nineteen Afghan civilians were killed in multiple roadside mine blasts in Kabul and Kandahar Sunday. Two of the blasts occurred in Arghistan district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. In the first incident, a Toyota pickup carrying civilians hit a roadside mine near Shana Nari village killing nine
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 9, 2020 U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says the United States is planning to cut back its troop levels in Afghanistan to “a number less than 5,000” by the end of November. Esper made the remark in an interview with Fox News that was broadcast on August 8. His
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 9, 2010 Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani Sunday announced the release of a last batch of 400 Taliban prisoners, clearing the way for an early start to a U.S.-brokered peace dialogue with the Islamist insurgency. Ghani’s decision came after a government-sponsored grand public assembly, known as a Loya Jirga, advised him
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan August 8, 2020 A traditional Afghan council is expected to back a proposal for the government to release a final group of 400 Taliban prisoners, a move that potentially paves the way for intra-Afghan peace talks. Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Loya Jirga gathering Afghan politicians and community leaders, said
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 7, 2020 ISLAMABAD – A traditional public assembly, known as a Loya Jirga, opened in Afghanistan Friday to determine whether a last set of 400 hard-core prisoners from the Taliban insurgency should be freed to clear the way for long-awaited direct peace talks between Afghanistan’s warring sides. Afghan President Ashraf
Ariana: A traditional consultative council, or Loya Jirga, will convene in Kabul on Friday to decide the fate of the last 400 Taliban prisoners who have not yet been released in accordance with the US-Taliban Doha agreement. The agreement called for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 government personnel that were being held
FP: The country’s former occupier is using Kremlin-backed media to fuel anger toward the United States. Russia’s disinformation seeks to increase Afghan support for the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces and fuel suspicions about the intentions of the residual U.S. security force presence in postwar Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 4, 2020 ISLAMABAD – U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan will be reduced to “anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000” troops by November this year. Trump’s remarks to Axios for HBO came as the Afghan Taliban has said its chief peace negotiator in a video
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan August 4, 2020 The Afghan government will convene a grand assembly of elders, known as the Loya Jirga, in Kabul on August 7 to decide the fate of hundreds of Taliban prisoners that Taliban leaders insist should be released before they join peace talks with the government. Last week, President Ashraf